T HE C HILD I S THE MEANING
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By this time Sarah's hope that her husband would return began to
fade. A separation between Sarah and Michael · had been arranged
by lawyers and Sarah received a monthly stipend which was adequate
to all of her expenses and even her desire to save. Sarah felt the
amount was unjust because it was not proportionate to Michael's
earnings, but when a lawyer advised her to sue Michael for a divorce
and thus secure alimony based on Michael's wealth, Sarah refused
because she still tried to believe that Michael would return to her and
also she knew that what Michael wanted most of all was to get a
divorce. His desire for a divorce made Sarah suspect that there was
some woman he wanted to marry. Michael when he visited his chil–
dren mentioned the divorce and on one visit he stopped to see Ruth
Hart, asking her to use her influence on her daughter to persuade her
to the sensible action of a divorce.
"What makes you think I have any influence?" asked Ruth
Hart.
"I know you have a big influence on her," said Michael. Be–
tween the son-in-law and the mother-in-law there was an admiration
for each other which often made Sarah indignant.
~'How
can you like anyone who behaves like that to your daugh–
ter:?" said Sarah. She felt that Michael deserved moral condemnation
and she was incensed by her mother's admiration of Michael's mas–
culinity and worldly success, although she herself took pride in the
fact that her husband was more successful than the husbands of any
of the girls she had known.
" I would rather have a poor man," said Sarah, "who was good
to me."
This was not true, but Sarah had no way of knowing that it was
not true, because she had so many reasons of mind and of heart
for not divorcing her husband. The reason she mentioned as sheer
justification was her children's benefit. But her mother told her with
tact that her real reason was her fear that some woman would become
Michael's wife, if she divorced him. In her own circle the prestige
of being Michael's wife remained strong, even though Michael had
left her.
During these years, Seymour's idleness became more and more
of a burden to his sister Rebecca and his mother. He refused to make
any effort any longer to get a job because he had been discouraged
so much by his failures.
His friendship with his nephew and his niece increased. He
